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Linda Kasabian talks about the time she lived with the nation’s most infamous family, and how she was an inactive participant in the Tate/LaBiana murders. That’s about the only thing new this History Channel docu-drama can offer about the 1960s killer clan.

What more can you say about the serial killer cultural icon Charles Manson and his family?

The media has wallowed through the psychotic lives of Manson and his devoted killer followers many, many times. The murders - gruesome for their time - made Manson a sort of cultural icon - the be-all-end-all of serial killers. He was the inspiration for fictional murders and a continued series of films about him and his brainwashed followers. Information about the brutal killings has been regurgitated so many times it is nearly household legend for all ages.

What could the History Channel possibly offer to spice up the Manson story? The answer: Linda Kasabian. The former Mansonite speaks out 40 years after the killings to talk about life in the Manson Family ranch and what it was like to hear the screams of those murdered by the family. It was not her only appearance; she was also featured on Larry King Live. In both pieces, she is hidden and disguised to hide her identity.  She wasn’t as concerned with hiding herself when she did the 20th anniversary interview with A Current Affair, part of which can be seen here:

In Manson, we get a good docu-drama featuring acted scenes, with interviews with Kasabian, prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi and Debra Tate, Sharon Tate’s sister, though some question the accuracy of the reenactments. I cannot tell you certain specific aspects of the crimes like some who have followed the case (like which side of the car one guy was shot), but I know they were horrific for the time. I think the docu-drama offers that creep factor for those new to the Manson lore.

Kasabian was a wide-eyed romantic who ended up at the Spahn Ranch - a real movie set and the Manson Family home - after she got tired of living with her husband. There only four weeks, Kasabian apparently witnessed the peace and love atmosphere that quickly deteriorated into Helter Skelter - murderous chaos.

She tells what she saw first-hand in the killing spree at the home of Roman Polanski and the eight-months pregnant Sharon Tate. She also talks about how Manson used drugs and sex to keep his followers in line - though rarely taking drugs himself. He was also good at getting into their psyches, delving deep so he could “understand” them better than himself.

Manson was pissed that his music career had floundered. He wanted to strike back at the big Hollywood honchos who dared not appreciated his musical talent. (He actually sounded quite good. A real recording of the Manson Family is played during the film.)

He first chose the home of a former music mogul, which was now owned by director Polanski. Murdered were five people in a gruesome killing that shook the community. Kasabian was ordered to pick up the weapons by Manson, but she ended up being a lookout at the home while three others committed the killings.

The next night, Kasabian, who now understood what would happen, was sent to witness the killings of supermarket owner Leno LaBiana and his wife, Rosemary.

It was after this killing that Kasabian fled the Manson ranch, leaving her small daughter behind. She only returned to testify once the Tate/Labianca murders were linked to Manson’s family, after one of the killers - Susan Atkins -  bragged about it while in prison on another crime. Atkins died in jail in September.

Kasabian got immunity for her testimony - something that Debra Tate believes was an injustice, according to the docu-drama. She also got custody of her daughter, Tanya, the one she left behind when she fled. Kasabian continues to live in hiding. She raised four children after Manson.

Manson is a decent recounting of the deeds of the crazed sociopath and his followers. The reenactments are creepy, and it offers real footage and photos from the crime scenes and trial. I was particularly moved by the photo of the dead, pregnant Sharon Tate, who had rope burns around her neck from being hung while stabbed. I had not seen that picture before - at least that I can remember.

Kasabian herself struck me as totally incapable of remorse at first. She would laugh as she reminisced about her first days at the Manson ranch. I was thankful to finally see some tears near the end, when she talked about the bloodied bodies and her regrets. She seemed much more… repentant? human? ... than in the beginning.

Adam Wilson was a fantastically creepy Charles Manson. Tamara Hope did a great job portraying the naive Kasabian as a young woman enthralled with Manson’s peace, sex and drugs message.

Kasabian only lived with the Manson family for four weeks. It felt like she should have been there four months for all that happened. I was really surprised it was so little time. The docu-drama even makes it seem longer.

There were a few more details in this docu-drama than I’d heard before but still, sometimes it felt like a canned script. So much of these same factoids have been in the media for a while. The presentation was good and someone who knows nothing about the Manson clan could find a good starting point in this docu-drama.

For those who can find it, there is a 1973 documentary with the same name. It is different in that it offers interviews with Manson clan members. Some clips are available on YouTube.

Manson is a good docu-drama about the killings for anyone who is unfamiliar with the crimes. For those who have studied Manson and other killers, it will be a lot of the same information pieced together from various sources.

A fresh take would have been where the Manson kids are now. There were half a dozen kids at the compound when authorities arrived to arrest everyone. How many turned out to be killers? How many are clergy? We haven’t heard much about them (except for some old clips on YouTube) and that would be an interesting update.

If anything, Manson made me want to go back and read Helter Skelter again. It’s been too long.

Read also about how the murders impacted Tate’s husband Roman Polanski in Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired. Some of the facts in this documentary about Polanski facing charges of child rape are very pertinent today, since he was recently arrested for extradition in Switzerland on the charges.

The UK’s The Observer has a terrific article about how Cineflix folks found Kasabian for the docu-drama.

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